Sunset Gold
by The Cook's Girl
Summary: His eyes are constantly drawn to the golden hair that reflects the light of the sun. The sun has a hopeless love but his fire hurts anyone that gets a little too close. This is the story of the boy that stared at the sun and the sun who loved the boy. Modern AU.
1. Those who Stare at the Sun

"This is MINE, Luffy, get your grubby hands off of my food!"

Zoro growled at the hyperactive young man trying to steal his yakisoba bread, holding it high above his reach while Luffy attempted to clamber all over him to try and take his lunch.

"But I'm HUNGRY!" Luffy cried pathetically, stretching as far as he could to try and reach, even if the meant using his friend as a stepping stone to his goal. "The food I had wasn't nearly enough, I need more! I need meat!"

Thankfully, before he was able to reach, Zoro pushed him away and jumped back, guarding the bread carefully. "I haven't even eaten yet, don't try and act like a starving kid when you eat more than twenty of us students put together." His eyes narrowed dangerously as Luffy pursed his lips childishly. "This. Is. Mine."

There was a sigh behind them, and both boys stiffened slightly, neither willing to move their gaze away from the other just in case a weak spot was found. If Zoro looked away, then Luffy could steal his bread. If Luffy looked away, he could miss Zoro letting his guard down. But the sigh came from none other than Usopp, who shook his head with a slight roll of his eyes. His curly, crazy hair was held back by a bandanna tied around his head, and he had big round eyes and an abnormally long nose.

Which was perfectly suitable, considering that he was a pathological liar. He was a bit like a real-life Pinocchio, but Usopp was a good guy. And also the only one out of the three of them that had a bento lunchbox, and he _knew_ it; you could tell by the smug grin on his face as he waved his chopsticks around.

"Now now, you guys shouldn't be fighting, you should just get a bento, like I do!," he teased the two, but instantly changed his tune once both eyes shot glowering eyes at him and a shiver racked up his spine. He nearly dropped his bento as he scrambled backwards, covering it protectively. "I-I'm kidding, I'm kidding! T-The food you have is great, NOTHING compared to mine, hahaha!"

It was Zoro's turn to roll his eyes, and he growled, "If you're going to brag about your lunch, you better be ready to fight for it." He frowned, his eyes narrowing into another glare. "I won't let you off so easily next time." He huffed to himself, then lowered down the yakisoba bread to take a nice, huge bite only to feel teeth against teeth. He blinked a few times, realizing a few moments after that Luffy had stuffed his face with HIS yakisoba bread. Luffy had practically inhaled it, or it would have seemed so if his cheeks didn't look like a chipmunk's cheeks.

"YOU BASTARD!," Zoro roared, charging after the giggling Luffy with crazed eyes, "THAT WAS MY LUNCH!"

Luffy, the skinny boy who successfully stole his food, was, for whatever reason, his friend too. Both he, and Usopp. Luffy was a lanky kid who had energy to spare, the appetite of a giant, and was completely obsessed with a straw hat that was given to him by his adoptive father, Shanks. Shank, however, had left to travel the world when he was younger, so he lived with his grandfather instead so that hat was all he had left of Shanks until they met again. Luffy was an idiot, but he had his moments. But he was still an idiot who made it his mission to steal Zoro's food.

"Nuh ish not, ish mah fuud!" Luffy strained through all the food in his mouth, still running from Zoro. "Can't haf it!" He then promptly swallowed his mouthful, flaming the fire of Zoro's rage even further. The green-haired man clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white, and stomped towards Luffy furiously. He raised his fist to hit Luffy only to feel a hard smack on the back of his head instead, being sent flying face-first down into the ground.

"You boys better settle down before I MAKE you settle down!"

Zoro groaned, hearing similar from Luffy as he rolled over slowly, sitting up and holding his aching nose. Once the world stopped spinning, he opened his eyes. He could see Usopp hiding behind the doorway where they came in from, and a pair of rather shapely legs. His eyes moved up from the legs, finding a skirt, a blue blazer tied around a thin waist, a white button-up shirt, and past that, orange hair. Zoro paled.

It was Nami. The student treasurer and also self-titled disciplinary committee chair when there was no actual Disciplinary Committee that even existed.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Nami shouted angrily, "I thought I told you guys just TEN minutes ago to stop horsing around, and now I find you both here, fighting over food again?!"

He couldn't believe it. Nami found him, again. What was she, a stalker? Or was she just so bored with her life that she had to make trouble with everyone else's lives? Either way, she needed to find something better to do other than count money and bother him. So, he just let out a loud sigh, stood up, and decided to give up on fighting with Nami for now. He was hungry, he was tired, and he no longer had any energy left to expend thanks to Luffy stealing his food and Nami giving him a good wallop. Even though she couldn't hit very hard, the loss of his food was a devastating blow, and he didn't even have a drink to help him get through it because he was at school.

"Forget it, I'm not going to answer this," Zoro sighed, shaking his head. "I'm leaving, I don't want to talk to you." He strolled right past her, ignoring her angry shouts, then past Usopp through the doorway. He wasn't going to deal with this now, nope. Lunch break wasn't over yet, and he didn't want to go back to class at all. Skipping sounded great. Wonderful, in fact. He was going to do that, skip class. Zoro started to walk down the stairs, hearing the sound of Nami's voice moving onto chewing out Luffy fading behind him as he walked farther and farther away. It was nice, not hearing her nag all the time. The young man yawned, lifting up a hand as he turned on the stair's landing to go down the second set only to see a flash of gold, catch the faint scent of tobacco and sugar, then feel something smash right into his shoulder. He shouted in surprised, the thing that toppled him falling over him as he smacked his head, a second time, against the floor.

"Ow, owowow...," he moaned in pain. Zoro's head was pounding, and while he was normally used to getting a beating, and normally wouldn't back down from a fight, just wasn't feeling it right now. He wanted to NAP, not fight, and this was becoming very bothersome. Hitting his head like this wasn't going to be good later on, he still wanted to be able to have more brain cells than Luffy by the time he graduated high school. Zoro wanted to get up, and tried, but couldn't; there was an unfamiliar weight on him and that weight was groaning too, lifting himself up onto it's arms, but stopped, taking a moment to stare down at Zoro, looking a little blank in the face.

Zoro blinked again, a little blank himself. He didn't recognize this guy at first, mostly because he had only seen him with his weird curly eyebrows furrowed and angry, or he was acting like a complete lunatic when it came to the girls at school; he had never seen that kind of expression on his face before. Not that he had any real interactions with him anyway, although they occasionally picked fights with one another because they got into each other's way, but other than that, it was nothing.

But somehow, his eyes had always followed that golden hair. If it flashed in the corner of his eyes, his gaze would follow it slightly before returning what he was doing. If he was looking out the window being bored, or sneaking a nap on top of the roof when he was skipping class, and he caught a glimpse of that hair, then he would steal a glance. They were glances only, nothing lingering, but the way it caught the sun's rays, how it in itself seemed to hair a personality of it's own, one very different from it's owner, was almost mesmerizing. Mysterious, beckoning, and beautiful.

However, other than that hair of his, there was nothing about him that was least bit likable, and Zoro started to remember that as recognition appeared on both their faces. The person leaning over him with hands and knees on both sides of the ground beside him, with the eye-catching blonde hair and perpetual scowl towards all of malekind was the one and only Sanji; the man who caused the most havoc on campus and the most famous womanizer out of the entire student body.

And Sanji had just ran straight into him and sent them both tumbling to the floor.

Once Sanji broke out of his daze, he scowled darkly, glaring at Zoro like it was his fault that he fell onto the ground. "Watch where you're going, stupid moss head!" he hissed angrily, promptly causing Zoro to sit up and slam his forehead against the angry blonde's forehead.

"Look you dartboard, don't blame me because you were too blind to watch where the hell you were going!" he retorted sharply through gritted teeth, his veins nearly popping out of his neck. He really, REALLY did not need this right now, especially from a punk like Sanji. But it was clear that he hit a nerve somewhere, and Sanji pushed against his forehead while Zoro pushed back stubbornly.

"Who the hell are you calling a freaking dartboard, HUH? You were in the way, you should have paid more attention!"

"You just admitted it! You just said that I was in the way, you ran me over on purpose?! What the hell would you do that for?"

"I didn't run into you on purpose, dumbass, it was an accident!"

"Oh, so you DID run into me, you admit that, at least?"

"No, you ran into me."

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Their chests heaved, out of breath from their exchange, fists clenched defensively and their eyes fixed on each other. Neither one refused to back down until Sanji had the nerve to pull his head back onto to headbutt Zoro with a very painful whack. Gold was all Zoro remembered seeing along with the flash of sharp pain before everything went totally dark.

As it turned out, Zoro really did end up getting his nap. Granted, it was in the nurse's office, his head was killing him, his nose was aching, and his eyes were stinging a little because he was sure he got a little bit of blood in them, but hey, he still got his nap. In a bed. While he did end up missing the rest of his classes, it really didn't feel all that worth it to get knocked out just to skip a couple of classes. At all. And the school doctor was weird. He didn't know how no one seemed to notice that he was a racoon-dog. Or reindeer, or whatever he was supposed to be; either way, he wasn't human and no one even seemed to care.

But right now, it was all over and done with; the school day was over, the doctor's visit was over. He had bandages on his head, he slept half the day, and he was planning on spending the rest of the day sleeping. After doing his homework, of course, because he needed to pass or else he would be in trouble, but the point was, he was just going to have a sleeping day.

 _Was._

Luck would have him do something else instead, it seemed.

Zoro hadn't gotten very far from the school, and he was taking his usual route home from the building. The sun was barely peeking through the buildings, the shadows on the ground long and almost ominious. As he started to turn a corner, that's when he saw it; a flicker of gold in the corner of his eyes.

The young man stopped in his steps, looking over his shoulder towards the flicker and saw Sanji disappearing around a different corner. Zoro's common sense told him to head straight home, get his homework done, then get some more, much needed sleep. However, both his curiosity and his desire for revenge won out and he turned on his heel and headed straight for the Sanji corner, making a turn and thankfully seeing him still in his sights, able to easily pick out that hair of his even out of a crowd. So, he tailed him. Sanji didn't seem to be vigilant at all, not noticing the man behind him at all. Or, if he did, he didn't show it but it was fairly easy to follow him. Zoro stayed far enough away that Sanji didn't detect him, but close enough that he wouldn't lose him in case there was another turn.

Finally, he caught sight of Sanji walking in some sort of restaurant. Zoro looked up at the name, noting silently that it was called _le Baratie_ , and wondered what kind of place it was. Most likely Sanji was just hungry and would have found a table somewhere, and Zoro couldn't help but grin to himself. That's when he would confront him, when he would demand an apology and, if not, have a slave to do his homework for him. At least for one night. That wouldn't hurt anything, he was sure, so he took a deep breath and headed on inside.

The door had barely opened and Zoro was pounded by the smell of bread, sugar, and anything and everything that could be baked, sweet, and neither. Zoro's hand flew to his nose, nearly suffocating from the overly sweet smell alone. He had two initial reactions. The first was to run outside so he could breath. The second was to run into the bathroom and cough his lungs out. But he told himself to calm down, it was just sugar, and it was just sweets, and he wrenched his hand down from his nose. It was hard not to gag, but he did a good job holding himself back as he looked around.

The tables looked like they belonged somewhere in France, and there was a pastry case that was practically empty with only a few desserts left. At least, it was almost empty until a big guy with a funny-looking face and large arm muscles that looked more like a gangster than a baker or pastry chef or whatever he was supposed to be came and filled up the case again. It was then that Zoro finally noticed a line of people that had clearly been waiting for a taste of those sweets and pastries. Personally, Zoro didn't get it himself, he couldn't stand sweet things and he never would understand.

But he took a moment to sit down, looking around the place. Sanji was nowhere to be found, and Zoro surmised he might be in the bathroom. So he waited. He waited, and waited, and waited, but no Sanji appeared out of a bathroom. By that time, he began wondering why a punk like Sanji would come to a place like this anyway. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who would like this sort of thing at all, especially considering his personality. Sanji appeared over the top in everything, going all out with everything that he did, whether it be fighting or trying to win a woman's heart. He saw it. He didn't mean to, but Zoro saw it. That gold that drew his gaze made him see.

"So, are you going to buy something, or are you going to just sit on your bum, you damn crook?"

Zoro jumped slightly, jarred from his thoughts, and looked up in slight alarm at the person standing by his table. It was the same guy that had refilled the pastry case, but this time he was standing over Zoro and he had a half-sweet, half-I'm-going-to-kill-you kind of smile. Zoro was at a slight loss for words before he finally just cleared his throat, finding his bravado.

"I'm waiting," he answered simply. What he was doing there was none of this guy's business. But the half-sweet smile then changed into a full-on angry frown; he looked very displeased and Zoro braced himself for a fight.

"If you're going to wait, wait outside then," the man said flatly. "If you not a paying customer, get out."

Zoro wondered if this guy really was in some sort of gang.

"I am," Zoro thought for a small moment. "Give me a water-"

"WATER IS FREE YOU DAMN CROOK!" The man was absolutely livid. "Now get out of here, we don't want anyone who doesn't pay!"

Zoro clenched his fists tightly, angry at this luck. He came here to give Sanji a piece of his mind, and he was TOTALLY sure that he saw him come in here, so where did he even go? Did he know that Zoro was following him after all and gave him the slip? Impossible, there was no way he could have known he was being tailed, absolutely impossible.

But the young student, while itching to pick a fight with Sanji, didn't feel like arguing with this stupid guy. He wasn't the one that he came for, not even close, and so Zoro begrudgingly stood up. After shooting the man a look that made him break out into a cold sweat, Zoro turned to leave, only to see it.

That hair.

Zoro whipped his head over his shoulder again, his eyes widening. There was no doubt about it, not anymore. Sanji hadn't given him the slip.

He hadn't figured out that he had been followed.

In fact, Zoro was absolutely sure that he would have never let him follow him to a place like this if he had known. There, in the back, he had seen him; he was wearing a pasty chef's uniform. There was no mistaking him, no way.

It was Sanji, working in a bakery.

* * *

a/n

If there was any familiar feelings with this work, it's because I'm remaking an old story of mine called Bitter Sweets. However, it's been a while, and while it's a remake, I want to start fresh and go a different direction with this than originally intended. : ) I hope that it's still loved, and to those of you who followed Bitter Sweets, I'm sorry that I won't have an update for that but hopefully, I can fill the void and you can have another story to enjoy in it's place.


	2. Anger Management

Zoro could hardly believe his eyes.

The delinquent Sanji, the terror of Grand Line High School, the womanizer of all womanizers, was donning an apron and working at a bakery. Zoro was having a hard time wrapping his mind around it, and could no longer hear the angry employee telling him to get out if he's not going to pay. His eyes were fixed on the man in the back of the store, watching him move in and out of his vision as he dashed around.

Even from how far away they were standing, Zoro could see that Sanji had ever measurement memorized, how his motions were fluid, uninterrupted, focused, and confident; once again, Zoro was shown a face he had never seen before on him.

Sanji was happy.

However, Zoro had been so surprised that he didn't notice that he was being dragged out by the collar of his shirt until he was almost out the door. He started flailing around his arms and legs frantically, trying to escape.

"HEY!" he bellowed, "Let me go, I told you, I was waiting for someone! You can't make me can't leave now, I just found 'em!" But his struggles were for nothing, as the employee gleefully tossed him out of the store, as if he was just waiting to do that to someone, and he looked much happier as he bowed.

"Don't ever come back again, you hear?" the man said in an oddly cheerful tone before waltzing back through the door. Zoro sat up, groaning again as he held his head. He really, REALLY needed to stop landing on it today, or else it was going to fall right off. He couldn't help but sulk. Sanji was right there, right in front of him, and he got kicked out because he just sat down without paying for something.

Maybe _le Baratie_ was some sort of gang bakery or something. He didn't see a soul there that looked friendly. In Zoro's mind, his idea of a bakery was flowers, pink, lots of pink, lots of sweet, lots of girls forcing smiles, and the occasional fruity guy twirling around like a ballerina. The only thing _le Baratie_ got right was the sickly sweet smell, but the atmosphere was completely strange. Was it popular? It appeared to be, judging by the line of people waiting for the food, but something still seemed off. It was probably just him. Most likely because he didn't like sweets.

But Sanji appeared to be the exact opposite.

Zoro finally stood up from the ground and dusted his pants off, approaching the door again. He didn't go inside, instead looking at the open and closing times of the bakery. It looked like it opened early, opening at five to cater to the breakfast crowds, and closed around eight in the evening. Zoro lifted his fingers, doing the math visually; if it was five in the evening now, then Sanji would be out by 9, at most. Zoro was stubborn. He didn't want to leave after coming all the way here to confront the blonde dartboard. Besides, if he did leave, there was no way he was going to find his way back, not unless he had some sort of map.

So Zoro decided that he would wait; he would wait until Sanji got off of work, and THEN he would punch him into next year. Yeah. That sounded fun. But that meant Zoro had quite a bit of time to kill before Sanji got off of work. He glanced around, finding a bench sitting in front of _le Baratie_ , and walked over to sit down. The backpack he was carrying was set beside him, and he dug around to search for his homework. If it was going to be a few hours before the fun started, then he may as well get the not-fun stuff finished before then. He needed to get it done anyway, and then afterward he could take a nice nap, just like he planned. Nothing really changed in his plans save for the location and the fact he got to beat up Sanji.

Or WOULD get to beat him up, since he hadn't gotten to that part yet.

But he was going to get to it.

Zoro was going to make him pay for making a fool out of him, leaving him out on the stair landing like that for someone to find just laying there. It hurt his pride and his head just thinking about how pathetic he looked, laying on the ground like that for anyone who passed by to see. It wasn't like he was a bad fighter, which was the worst part; he was the captain of the Kendo club, and was know as the sturdy pillar, the one who couldn't be knocked down, yet he blacked out from a simple headbutt. It just wasn't his day.

The young man finished his homework within the hour, it unfortunately being easier than he had expected thus taking less time to finished. But, once Zoro reminded himself he'll get to take a nice nap, then he cheered up again. Naps were good, that was for sure. So he crossed his arms across his chest, making himself comfortable as he leaned his head over the back the of the bench, asleep before he even got comfortable.

* * *

When Zoro came to, it was obviously very late. Everything was dark with the outdoor lamppost providing the only light visible. _Le Baratie_ was even dark, all the lights already cut off and there was no one bustling around there anymore. Zoro stared for a few moments before his eyes widened, jumping out of the bench and to his feet.

"Damn it!" he cried, scratching his head with a loud groan. "I can't BELIEVE this! I slept through closing time! My plan is ruined, I'm never going to get my revenge on him now, this sucks." His shoulder sagged, and he pinched his nose in regret. Maybe taking a nap was a bad idea. Zoro looked back to the bakery restaurant thing, then sighed again. This really wasn't fair. All that work tailing Sanji, and he couldn't even get his revenge.

With a shake of his head, he leaned down to get his backpack, and took a step forward after taking out his phone to check the time. Zoro couldn't help but grimace; it was almost 2 AM, it really was late. But suddenly, he realized that he had just stepped on fabric and not concrete. Zoro paused, then lifted his foot, looking down to find an apron laying on the ground. "Who the hell would leave an apron laying on the ground?" he murmured to himself, leaning down to pick it up. He recognized the glaring red colour from the uniforms the bakers and pastry chefs in the back were wearing, mostly because it was Sanji that was wearing it.

But Zoro was confused. Why would someone just leave an apron lying around on the ground? It seemed like a stupid thing to do, dropping an apron, but there it was, on the ground, with his dirty footprint on it. He frowned, looking it over. There was no nametag or anything of the like, so it was probably just some stupid mistake. So after dusting off his dirty footprint, Zoro laid the apron over the back of the bench, hoping it wouldn't get too wet from the morning dew, but didn't have much of a choice. There was no way he could take this home with him, he wasn't a thief. Plus, he wouldn't know what to do with it in the first place.

He then adjusted his backpack over his shoulders, put his phone back in his pocket, and started heading for home. He would just have to settle for talking to Sanji tomorrow. At least, if not tomorrow, then the next day. He might be too tired tomorrow because he still had a bit of a walk home.

The next day passed with no sign of Sanji, which was very odd because Zoro was sure that he usually saw him at least three or four times a day. Granted, they never spoke, but it was just passing by or bumping into one another's shoulders and getting sent to the principal's office for fighting. But he didn't spot him anywhere. Not even a faint glimpse.

That was weird.

Avoidance was unlikely. He doubted Sanji even noticed him sleeping on that bench. In fact, he was positive that Sanji never really paid him much attention at all, and that he was the first one to leave the bakery. Maybe he was the stupid one that had dropped the apron. But either way, it was just strange that he didn't find the curly-brow guy anywhere. Zoro was fuming.

Nothing was going right. He was supposed to make Sanji grovel before him, to make that guy pay for making a fool out of him. But nope. That wasn't going to happen, not today, nor did it happen yesterday. It wasn't fair, he was supposed to have the last laugh. But, unfortunately, the last laugh wasn't going to be had that day. It passed normally. Luffy tried to steal his food, he won this time. Usopp boasted about his homemade lunch from his friend Kaya again, he got the evil eye. Nami came and busted all their heads, they all took to the ground running. Class was nothing special, and soon the day was over.

Home was normal. Zoro did his homework, ate the bento he bought from the convenience store, then went to sleep. It was a terribly normal day.

However, the day after that day was different. Zoro didn't know if his luck had changed, or if it was by pure chance, but things had started to turn around. He knew so when he spotted Sanji taking his shoes out of the shoe locker at the end of the school day. For a short minute, all Zoro could do was stand there, dumbfounded. But the shock was soon melted away by the bottled up rage. It wasn't even about Sanji running into him anymore, it was the fact that he had to WAIT this WHOLE TIME to get his revenge when it should have been gotten two days ago.

Zoro didn't waste any time this time. He wasn't going to let this chance slip by, not a second time; not when Sanji was right there in front of him. The green-haired young man stomped over and before Sanji even knew it, he grabbed his collar. "You're coming with me," he growled lowly as Sanji whipped his head around in surprise. His wide eyes quickly narrowed into an angry scowl as he tried with all his might to wrestle away.

"Let me GO, you moss-head!" he shouted as Zoro dragged him away, pulling away but his steps stumbling backwards against his will. "I'm going to pound your face into the ground, you'll regret this!" He attempted to take a swipe at Zoro, but his missed thanks to the way he was facing. Zoro dragged him all the way to the back of the school, where he usually napped and never really got caught so he knew that they would be safe from prying eyes out there.

Zoro then let go of Sanji's collar, but before he could escape, he shoved his arm against the other's chest. There was a surprised gasp, and Zoro slammed him against the wall, pinning him down and not giving him any openings, no chance to escape. Not this time.

"What the HELL is your problem?!" Sanji spat after coughing, his breath coming short thanks to the wind getting knocked out of him. His eyes were angry, and Zoro could still see the bruise from the headbutt from two days ago. That only made him angrier, and he pushed his arm against Sanji harder.

"What's MY problem?," he shouted furiously, "What's YOUR problem?! What kind of guy just leaves someone out cold in the middle of the school, and what kind of guy HEADBUTTS people?! Come on, you should know better than to pick a fight with me." He started to feel the veins pop out of his neck, both embarrassed that he was found laying around in that kind of state, and embarrassed that he fell asleep in front of the place where he was supposed to tell Sanji off. But Sanji scoffed in his face, looking oddly smug despite the compromising position.

"Oh? You're still mad about that?" He rolled his eyes, not impressed and Zoro couldn't help but bristle, his shoulders raising tensely. "What an petty bastard, still holding a grudge. You know, you should play nice. But who are YOU to pick a fight with me, huh?" Sanji's eyes narrowed. "I know you know who I am, there's no one in the school who doesn't. But you're the only one who's stupid enough to drag me all the way over here and call me out like this. What are you, a girl trying to confess her feelings?" He sighed, shaking his head, and Zoro wanted to strangle him.

This guy was taunting him, and looking down on him like he was nothing. Did he think that just because he didn't have the same reputation as the blonde then he would be some sort of whining pushover? Well, he was dead wrong.

"Maybe I am still mad about that," Zoro sneered, not relinquishing his grip on Sanji for a second. "Maybe I'm pissed off because I don't let anyone humiliate me like that and get away with it."

Suddenly, he had an epiphany. The anger clouding his mind hadn't dissipated in the least, but he remembered something that had stuck with him clearly since he first saw it: Sanji worked in a bakery. This guy, who was looking down on him and calling him petty, made little cakes with little frosted flowers for little girls, and in an apron, no less.

But Sanji had noticed that Zoro was spacing out, and shook his head. "Not even worth my time," he mumbled to himself, taking the chance to push Zoro off of him and began to walk away. "Don't talk to me again, you bastard, or I will really beat the hell out of you-"

" _Le Baratie_ , huh?" Zoro interrupted. He was still facing the wall, but he turned his head to look at Sanji, who stopped mid-step. This time, he didn't look at Zoro, not even a tiny glance. "I only saw you from far away, but you were there alright. So, what did you do, hm?" Zoro slowly began to smirk. He had the upper hand this time, his fingers were around Sanji's neck and they were closing fast. "Lose a bet? Wanted to impress a girl? Either way, I saw you there, making cakes."

"Why I work there is none of your freaking business." Sanji's voice was low and quiet. Zoro refused to let this chance slip away.

"Regardless, you work there, don't you?" The green-haired student became more and more confident as he spoke, his anger not dulling, but instead sharpening his senses. "You seem really proud of your reputation. I wonder what all those guys that fear you would think when they learn you were baking cakes. And oh, what would the girls think?" It was then Sanji finally started to turn towards him, his movements slow, but deliberate. While he was trying his best to keep his face stoic, Zoro could see the little bead of sweat dripping down his cheek, both angry and nervous in his eyes. "I'm sure they would be disillusioned, considering the bad kid that they're attracted to so much is making frosting flowers. Granted, I'm sure some girls love guys who can bake, but you? They don't like you because you bake, or because you're sweet; they like you because you can take them riding on the other side of the tracks."

Sanji's fingers clenched.

"So... what do you think they would be saying if they found out? Both the guys and the ladies?" Zoro wondered out loud, tapping his chin with a finger. "That Sanji the Black Prince is a really a pansy?"

"Shut UP!" the blonde finally snapped, his face pale and knuckles white. "You don't know ANYTHING! I'm not going to get on the ground and beg you to not tell, if that's what you want." Sanji spat on the ground, his eyes ablaze and Zoro couldn't help but flinch, slightly surprised at the manner of Sanji's outburst. He was, actually, kind of expecting Sanji to do just that. "I'm not anyone's dog, and I refuse to be _your_ dog, of ALL people. So go on!" Sanji threw his hand up in exasperation. "Go, tell the whole school, hell, the whole WORLD, but I'm not going to lay myself down and just give myself to to you just like freaking that." His face darkened, and while anyone else would have ran for the hills from that expression alone, Zoro stood his ground, facing this foe head-on. "I'm not that easy, stupid. If you thought you could get the best of me, you thought wrong. Now leave me the hell alone, or you're seriously going to get a beating."

Zoro watched somewhat dumbly as Sanji stormed away, cursing up a storm. Even more dumbly, Zoro started to follow him again, this time making no effort to hide what he was doing. He wasn't sure what he was doing, exactly, but he was intrigued. And frustrated. Very, very frustrated. Who was Sanji, to tell him what he could and couldn't do?

What was worse was that he was right. Zoro wasn't the type to fight dirty, yet he had resorted to underhanded means. He wasn't the smartest guy around, but he wasn't dumb either; he knew his strengths and weaknesses. In other words, he was terrible at Usopp-tricking tactics, and was much better at just throwing the punches. In fact, he was starting to feel ashamed that he had even tried to resort to blackmail. It was shameful and he suddenly felt like his honor had been tarnished. He was going to have to fix that.

* * *

Luffy blinked. He had gone up to the roof to look for Zoro because he could sometimes find him napping, and he had seemed grumpier than usual the day before, so he wanted to cheer him up by drawing some faces on his sleeping face because that was always really, really funny. But somehow, he had tripped and nearly fell over the side of the roof. But, because of his awesome and super cool reflexes, he caught himself with his feet and dangled off the edge of the roof for a few scary moments a before bursting out laughing. But that wasn't the point.

In fact, it wasn't even close. But, because he got stuck upside down, he saw something interesting. At first, he saw Zoro, and was going to call out to him until he saw that he was yelling at some blonde guy. It had taken Luffy a minute, but he recognized him as his other friend too.

"Oh," he exclaimed to himself, crossing his arms across his chest as he watched the exchange from his upside down perch, "It's Sanji." While Zoro was his friend and neighbor, Sanji was in his class. They sat close to each other, in fact. Luffy always liked picking at his erasers and trying to throw them in the back of Sanji's shirt collar. But even thought Luffy knew them both, he hadn't really seen them do anything but fight, and was sure that they didn't get along. But Luffy always felt like they would get along. They just looked like they would be good friends to him.

But right then, they weren't being very friendly. Zoro had Sanji pinned, but Sanji ended pushing him away. Zoro got quiet, but when it came to food, Luffy could pick up anything. His eyes widened in delight, and he started to grin as he cupped his ears to try and hear better. Was that a bakery? Were they talking about a bakery? No one told him that Sanji worked at a bakery, he wanted to go! That sounds like a whole lot of fun! What did Zoro call it? La French Fry? That sounded right, La French Fry. He wanted to go. And it looked like both Zoro and Sanji were going without him, so why not?

Luffy grinned, lifting himself with his abdomen so he could reach the ledge of the roof with his hands, then quickly pulled himself up, zipping down the stairs and through the school, making it out of the gates just in time for him to catch Zoro and Sanji walking in the distance. The black-hair young man snickered to himself, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"This is going to be SO COOL!"


	3. le Baratie

The two schoolboys were quiet on the walk at first. Sanji was taking the same route as before, Zoro realized; the one towards that weird gang-bakery. He guessed that the blonde could care less that he was going to the same place, since Zoro already knew his "dark" secret. But, at the same time, he felt like there was something more at work going on in Sanji's mind. He had gotten awfully defensive about his reasons for working there, rather than being caught working there.

"Hey!"

Zoro blinked, and looked forwards, seeing that Sanji, while still walking, was glaring at him over his shoulder.

"Why are you following me, huh?" Sanji scowled, gritting his teeth. "I thought I told you to get lost! I don't want you following me, go away! I don't want any stalkers, unless they're pretty girls and you're not pretty, OR a girl, so beat it!" As Sanji fumed, Zoro didn't stop walking, simply shrugging with a slight yawn. For some reason, he didn't feel so angry anymore. Maybe it was just because he was tired out now and wanted a nap? Or maybe it was because he wanted to know what other secrets Sanji was hiding. Like why did he cover up one eye with his hair? Why did he work at a bakery? Was it because he liked sweets too? Why did he even get defensive in the first place? There was definitely something up, and Zoro wanted to figure out what that "something" was.

"No," he said bluntly, hearing an irritated Sanji groan to follow.

"I can't believe you. You run into me, ON PURPOSE, say it's my fault, then you freaking follow me to where I work then BLACKMAIL me?! Come one, just leave me alone already!" Sanji then picked up his pace, but not before flipping Zoro the bird.

Nevermind. Zoro was still angry.

"Who's holding a grudge now!?" Zoro hissed, clenching his fists, quickening his own steps to keep up with Sanji. "I didn't run into you, you ran into me! There's way I could have ran into you because I wasn't even walking very fast." But Zoro huffed. "And you're still just as bent out of shape as I am, so don't ever talk to me about grudges like that again, you idiot."

"Who are you calling an idiot?!" he heard Sanji shout, and Zoro growled.

"You, dumbass dartboard!"

"I am NOT a dartboard, you stupid Marimo!"

"And I'm not a Marimo, just shut up! You sound more and more stupid every time you open that mouth of yours!"

"That's funny, because I swear that every word that's coming out of your mouth is nothing but shit!"

They couldn't stop fighting the entire walk to _le Baratie_ , but Sanji didn't stop walking nor did Zoro stop following. They made it there within ten minutes, and finally, before walking inside, Sanji stopped at the door. He turned around to look Zoro in the eyes.

"Look, I need you to leave," he told him with an irritated sigh. "I have to work, I can't be distracted by a dolt like you." Zoro narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms.

"I'm not going to leave," he stated stubbornly. "Not after those things you just said, I'm going to stay here. Besides..." The green-haired man smirked. "I want to see you embarrass yourself in that apron. I'll even buy something so that stupid guy won't kick be out again."

Sanji's curly eyebrow twitched, then turned and wordlessly stomped inside. Zoro couldn't help but grin. He had won, for now. Sanji lost only because he had to work, but Zoro would celebrate the win nonetheless. He walked into the place, satisfied, and joined the line; thankfully it didn't look as busy, considering how bad it was a couple of days ago, but was certain that it was just because it hadn't picked up yet. He glanced in the pastry case, and wrinkled his nose. The smell really was terrible. Maybe if it wasn't so overbearing, it would be okay, but it didn't feel okay at all. The desserts looked like something a sissy would make, but people seemed to like them. However, Zoro was looking for something that wasn't sweet.

Zoro shouldn't have let himself get distracted, he should have known better. He didn't notice the idiot behind him and Sanji at all because he had been too busy arguing, and nor did he pay attention when said idiot walked through the doors of _le Baratie_. Zoro only noticed when he was abruptly tackled to the ground.

"Yo, Zoro!" the voice cried, so excited he could barely contain himself, literally sitting-bouncing up and down on Zoro's back. "Zoro, isn't this place AWESOME? There's sweets everywhere, I want to eat them all! Come on Zoro, buy some for me. I want some." He bounced again, and Zoro wondered why this kid hadn't been killed by him yet, and why any self-respecting man would let Luffy treat them like a personal springboard.

The green-haired man shoved Luffy off, feeling particularly beat up, and could hear Luffy laughing his face off as he hopped to his feet. Zoro shot a sharp glare at Luffy, getting up to his feet to answer him only to hear a different voice instead.

"Huh?" Sanji walked over, wiping flour off of his hands, looking oddly, well, normal. Like a human being. Zoro rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing this right or if this was some hallucination induced by the inhalation of too much sugar-air. But the rubbing of his eyes didn't do any good, Sanji was still looking normal. And looking normal while talking to Luffy. "What are you doing here?"

"Sanji!" Luffy threw up his hands, starting to flail them around. "Sweets! Give me a snack, I'm hungry!" He laughed wildly, and anyone who wasn't staring thanks to his flying tackle was definitely staring now. Luffy just couldn't stand not being the center of attention. Rather, not that he couldn't stand it, just he had no way of not standing out, no matter where he went. Luffy just couldn't help but make a scene.

But Sanji seemed to take that all in stride, he wasn't looking at Luffy like some lunatic, which meant he knew him somehow. Zoro frowned, standing up to his feet and watching the strange scene between Sanji and Luffy. He wasn't even really listening to what they were saying, he was just trying to figure out how they KNEW each other. Sanji was really an unexpected guy. Working in bakeries, being friends with HIS friend, and that friend happened to be Luffy, no less. It really was astounding, and Zoro's mind didn't know how to compute this new information.

At this point, he didn't even know why he was there in the first place. Luffy and Sanji were talking like it was no big deal, and Zoro knew he didn't even like sweets anyway. He glanced back at the other two, and frowned. It probably would have been better if he hadn't followed Sanji in the first place. His "revenge" totally backfired, thanks to not really being that kind of guy and not thinking correctly because he was angry. Zoro knew he would have to find a different way to get his revenge, a way that suited his style a lot better. Or maybe no revenge at all.

He didn't know anymore.

Zoro decided to slip quietly out of line, knowing he had homework to get done anyway. His uncle would kill him if he didn't keep his grades up. Luffy was distracting Sanji, so he was sure he wouldn't notice him leave. Which was good, because he never wanted to seem like he was running away from a fight. At the moment, he was just waiting for the right moment, because it wasn't the right moment anymore.

Once he got outside, away from the suffocating sugary hell, he rolled his shoulder a little, adjusting his bag, ready for the walk home. It wasn't too far, about a 20-minute walk from the store, he figured. He got lost last time on the way home, so that 20-minute walk had turned into an hour-long walk and had gotten home around three in the morning. His uncle wouldn't have been very happy, if he had been home. But he was away on business for a while, so he didn't have a clue. But as Zoro took a step forward, he stopped again. Much to his surprise, there was actually someone who was pretty familiar walking towards _le Baratie_.

Her dark cobalt eyes were buried in a book, as always, and she took a moment to brush a bit of her black hair behind her ear. She was a thin and tall woman, and was usually asked if she were a model. Most knew her as Robin, the librarian at their school, but for Zoro, she was also his next door neighbor. She had moved there to Japan a few years ago, taking up a job at Grand Line High School. She actually helped him with some subjects, also tripling as a tutor for him. She was a bookworm though, and extremely obsessed with history. Zoro thought she was a pretty mysterious woman, and used to wonder if she were some sort of otherworldly being back when he was in junior high. Which was really stupid of him. He knew better now, but it was still pretty embarrassing to think about. In any case, he was surprised to see Nico Robin heading towards that hellish bakery.

"Robin?" Zoro asked as he walked up to her. He had grown taller, and he was actually taller than Robin was. Zoro was a second year in high school, after all. In one year, he would graduate, so no wonder he grew so much taller. "What in the world are you doing here?" He grimaced visibly as she looked up from her book. "Don't tell me you like going to this... I don't even know what it is, but it's gross." Robin laughed lightly.

"I go here often, Zoro," she chuckled. "The one that really should be surprised here is me." Robin lifted an amused eyebrow at her younger neighbor, closing the book after noting her page. "What are _you_ doing here? I was under the impression you didn't care for things that were sweet. While I do believe you don't mind a croissant or two, this place has a little too much sugar for you."

"I-I... uh, I wasn't here for any particular reason," he lied, his face reddening slightly. He had been caught, but there was no way he was telling her the reason he stalked Sanji here, no way; he would just be admitting out loud that he had so pettily followed him with the intent of bugging him until Sanji was the one who was red in the face. It all sounded so stupid, in hindsight. On the bright side, Zoro remembered why he was there in the first place. "I just, well, I-I heard that it was really popular and that the food was good, so I wanted to check it out." He huffed irritably. "I didn't think I was going to walk in and be surrounded by a sugar smog." Robin laughed again, clearly enjoying Zoro's discomfort.

"I see." She smiled lightly, and leaned forward slightly before giving his nose a light flick with her finger. Zoro jumped at the sudden contact, and held his nose in surprise.

"H-Hey!"

"You know, you're a very bad liar." Robin's smile grew mischievously, and Zoro flinched slightly. "If you don't want people to know you're lying, the you should stop pulling at your shirt. Then you'll get much better than that." Zoro frowned.

"Who said I wanted to be good at lying? Maybe I just didn't wanna tell you why I was here in the first place." Zoro huffed again, glaring slightly at Robin. "... Man, if people knew what you were really like, maybe they would stop trying to give you love letters."

"Whatever do you mean?" Robin shrugged innocently, and Zoro rolled his eyes. She was a lot different than people gave her credit for sometimes. There wasn't one person who's view of her that didn't see her as a beautiful angel that could do no wrong. Except for him. Zoro wondered silently if the boys would all cry if they found out their angel had a bit of a mean streak.

Then again, those same boys liked Nami. Zoro worried about the future of their country if all of Japan was filled with women like that.

"Nevermind," Zoro grunted, starting to walk past her. "Forget I even said anything." He sighed heavily, but felt a hand on his shoulder. His eyes moved to Robin, seeing her turn and join his side instead of heading towards _le Baratie_ , and he couldn't help but smirk. "Changed your mind?" Robin chuckled, and shrugged lightly.

"What kind of tutor would I be if I let my student walk home alone this late?" Her smile softened a little, and Zoro grunted again, averting his eyes. There really wasn't any doubt that she was a very beautiful woman. "And you're a man now, you may as well walk me home while you're at it. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" Zoro crinkled his nose, half-frowning and giving her a funny look.

"Well, guess it can't be helped. But don't get in trouble for preying on a high school student. Everyone's gonna call you a cougar."

The rest of the walk home, Zoro had a red mark on his face shaped like the binding of a book.

Zoro was extremely distracted the following day, during lunch Luffy was able to steal his yakisoba bread with no fight. He didn't feel Usopp staring at him as he stared over the edge of the roof. Maybe it was because he was tired, or maybe it was because his mind was occupied. But either way, his lunch was gone. Again. Even Luffy stared at Zoro as he chewed on his friend's bread.

"Hey, Zoro," he called after swallowing all his food, walking forwards and pushing Zoro's head, "Why're you spacing out like that? Thinking about food?" Thanks to that, Zoro's thoughts cracked and he growled, glaring at Luffy.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Zoro narrowed his eyes, staring at Luffy for a moment until he realized that his food was gone. "W-What, Luffy, why did you take my food!? AGAIN!?" He jumped to his feet, his fists clenched, and Luffy laughed loudly.

"FINALLY!" He threw his hands up in delight. "You were staring and being really quiet Zoro, so I took your food to get you to stop being quiet, but then you were still quiet!" Luffy grinned widely, glad that Zoro snapped out of his weird trance.

"So taking my food is the only thing you could have thought of?" Zoro sighed. Luffy really was too much sometimes. He was going to starve because of this guy.

"Actually," Usopp piped up, taking a bite of rice. "We were both worried about you Zoro, you've been acting really weird for a while now." He frowned, chewing thoughtfully. "Ever since Sanji ran into you the other day, you've been either more angry than usual or more quiet." Usopp leaned forwards, worried about his friend and knows that Luffy has been really worried too, could see him nodding in agreement.

"Yeah!" Luffy cried, and his grin started to disappear. "Like, why did you leave Big French Fry yesterday!? We were going to have something to eat, me, you, and Sanji, the three of us!" He pursed his lips as his eyes narrowed, pouting like a child. "I was really looking forward to it, and you had to ruin it all by leaving! You're a big jerk, Zoro. Jerk, jerk, jerk!" Zoro stared at Luffy in annoyance, asking himself why he was friends with a childish idiot like this.

But it had gotten to the point where both Usopp and Luffy had noticed. In fact, they had seen that he had been bothered since the beginning. Zoro didn't think he had been that angry. Well, he HAD been angry, and the confrontation with Sanji hadn't really gone all that well, but still, he didn't expect either Luffy or Usopp to notice. In fact, he really didn't think about them at all. Zoro had been so focused on getting his revenge and making sure that he got Sanji back he had even considered that they would even care. He had momentarily forgotten that his friends didn't just hang around him to steal his food; not that it was that great in the first place, but it still caught him off guard a little bit.

"What are you doing, worrying about me?" Zoro managed to scoff, waving his hand dismissively as if their worries would be waved away too. "You guys should just worry about yourselves, I can take care of myself." Zoro smirked at the two slightly, and he watched Usopp relax a little more, and Luffy continued to stare. At least, until he finally started to grin. They both seemed to accept that as an explanation, and he was glad. Even if they didn't talk about every single thing, they still relied on him, and he was able to rely on them. Silent support was really all that they needed from each other, even if they didn't always get along.

Zoro grinned to himself, glancing back over the edge of the roof only to see the exact person that had caused him so much trouble. His expression immediately soured, and he clenched his fingers. He didn't want to see him, not really. Zoro almost scoffed and turned his gaze away, but he couldn't take his eyes away. Not because Sanji was down there, but because Sanji was down there with a group of maybe fifteen or so thugs that seemed to have him cornered. He could see that the curly-brow was casually lighting a cigarette, and the punks around him seemed to be yelling something. Zoro couldn't understand what it was they were saying, but once one threw a punch, that was it.

Zoro jumped to his feet, hitting the ground running and tearing down the stairs. It seemed as if Luffy had seen the scene himself, and could hear his footsteps right behind him. He wasn't worried about Luffy, he knew he could hold his own in a fight. As for Sanji, while he knew in his head that he could fight. He had seen him walk around with bruises, cuts, and who knows what else in school all the time. He knew that's who Sanji was, the kind of guy to get into fights with everyone, but that didn't seem to stop him from getting up and running his way. Zoro didn't know what the heck he was doing, trying to help him, but he couldn't just leave him alone like that. He glanced at Luffy as they reached the base of the stairs, Luffy glanced back, and they both gave each other a nod before they both shot towards the back door of the school.

They were neck in neck the whole run, both ignoring to students and teachers staring and glaring at them, and only stopping for a short moment to let Zoro wrench the back door open, breaking the lock. Their two pairs of feet pounded against the grass, turning a corner and saw that Sanji was fighting them with everything he had, but there was too many. Zoro could see already that Sanji's nose was bleeding, his lip busted and his left cheek dirty and swollen.

Despite both Zoro and Luffy running and the same pace, Luffy was the first one to jump in, shouting random gibberish as he punched a guy straight in the nose. Zoro then joined in; he didn't have his kendo swords with him, but he wasn't any sort of pushover in a fight. He slammed his fist into an angry guy's gut, sending him flying backwards into the wall of the school. He ducked low, avoiding a punch from another thug, and returned the favor by kicking in his kneecap. Rising up, he jabbed the guy's sternum with his elbow with a wild grin. He didn't bother check on Luffy or Sanji, just focusing on the people coming at him and taking care of them. If he got punched, he punched harder; if he got kicked, he kicked harder. At some point, Zoro, Luffy, and Sanji three were all fighting back to back, their backs in an almost triangle formation.

"I-I didn't... ask you to help me..." he breathed, his voice ragged and tired. Zoro could feel his shoulders moving up and down with each breath; in the back of his mind, wondering if Sanji is okay. Somehow, he sounded tired. Not because of the fighting, but, exhausted. Was there something else going on? Zoro wasn't sure, but he scoffed.

"M-Maybe not, but there was no way I could let your sorry ass be beaten by someone other than me," Zoro stated simply. "Besides, fifteen against one? I-it needed to be a fair fight for me not to interfere." The green-haired male heard Luffy chuckle loudly behind him.

"Yeah Sanji, we're not just going to leave you out to dry!" he exclaimed in excitement, clearly enjoying the fight. "Friends have to help friends out, that's what they do! Besides, you'll owe me some food after this!" Really, was food the only thing on Luffy's mind?

"Whatever," Sanji groaned, tensing up a little more, but his voice gaining confidence. "I won't leave any left for you guys, so don't complain when I beat them all." Zoro smirked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"If I leave any for you, that is." Zoro stole a glance at Sanji and Luffy, his grin smug.

"Nope, they're ALL MINE!" Luffy laughed even harder, and shot forward.

Zoro's gaze then lingered on Sanji, who's gaze was also on him, and they smirked at each other before lunging in their own separate directions.

However, a problem arose when the few remaining punks decided to bring out knives. Zoro cursed, breathing heavily. This was bad. There was enough for the three of them to take, but they were unarmed and if they got stabbed, it could be really, really bad. But Zoro decided that he wasn't going to lose. Not in front of Sanji and DEFINITELY not in front of Luffy. He lifted a hand to the guys, beckoning them with a hand with a sideways, cocky grin. He wasn't going to lose. There was no way. These guys were nothing.

"Bring it on."


End file.
